STOLEN GOODS AS DEPOSIT

Evening Star, Issue 19758, 7 January 1928, Page 3

STOLEN GOODS AS DEPOSIT

A SEAMAN'S OPERATIONS [Per United Press Association.] UAW.EKA, January 6. Before justices of the peace in the court to-day a seaman named Andrew Alexander Clark alias Hugh Grant alias Hugh Vernon Ponsford pleaded guilty, and was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence, on two charges involving false pretences—-first, with stealing a gramophone valued at £39, and, secondly, with fraudulently obtaining a cycle car valued at £IOO by falsely representing that the gramophone was his own property. According to the evidence, the accused, using the name of Ponsford, secured a gramophone in Hawera on the hire purchase system last March, paying £2 10s deposit and instalments of 7s 6d. In March lie traded tho gramophone as a deposit on a cycle car at Eltham, £3O being allowed by the dealer, and in June ho traded the cycle car as a £SO deposit on a motor cycle priced at £195 at Auckland. Tho cycle Was afterwards sold to a Hawke’s Bay resident, from whom it was recovered by the Auckland firm. The accused was remanded to Wellington. A further charge was that of fraudulently obtaining £SO from a Lower Hutt resident in July by falsely representing himself to ho a flight lieutenant from the Sockburn aerodrome. The accused admitted changing his name whenever he changed his address. It is said he is wanted by the police for offences in various parts of New Zealand.

Charged with fraudulently stating he had posted a letter at Haw'cra containing £ls, Rolfo Donald Cooke pleaded guilty, and w r as committed for sentence. The postmaster’s evidence w r as that the accused, who owed rent to a third party, had signed an official form declaring he had posted a letter addressed to the house owner, giving details of. the alleged monetary contents. When interviewed by the police the accused admitted that his story was false.